Lester/Surf Dog and I go back almost 25 years now. He lives within a reasonable drive of me (Hemet) and I've done various one day seminars for him over the years. Usually they were coordinated with the "King of the Cage" fights at which he judged so I got to sit with him while he judged the fights. Very cool! And when he had a student who was fighting, I got to be the substitute judge. Tres cool! (By the way, Surf Dog is now a regular judge at the UFC, on "Spike's The UItimate Fighter" and other events as well.)

Anyway, Surf Dog has a new school with a new location with plenty of space and has asked me to begin giving DBMA seminars there on a regular basis. The seminar on Sunday April 20th is but the first of these.

TIME: 11:00AM TO 4:00 PM WITH ONE HOUR LUNCH BREAK @ 1:00PMCOST: $80.00 AT THE DOOR $60.00 IF YOU PAY BY APRIL 2ND AND $70.00 IF YOU PAY BY APRIL 12TH . THERE IS ONLY ROOM FOR 20 TO 30 PEOPLE. SO RESERVE YOUR PLACE TODAY.CONTACT: LESTER GRIFFIN AT 951 492-8362 OR 951 654-0210 E MAIL fight911@earthlink.net

Hello to all, Please come check out Lesters new school and have what i know will be a great day of training. Crafty, my wife will make a filipino lunch (even balut if you like) for all that would like it. Craig

Home from a fun and info filled day. I had to go to the notebook as soon as I got home to write and sketch the material presented. I was surprised at 8:30 this morning by my oldest son that he was in town and would join me. Thanks to Lester for hosting and Marc (I mean Dog Bros Inc) for your teaching. Also Cisco was a great assistant. A fine day indeed.....Craig

I was sorry to have to miss the seminar today. I had made a commitment to meet with an old friend and I made those plans before the seminar was announced. Surf Dog has been really supportive, attending the last few Gatherings and really making an effort to talk with the fighters. He showed me a technique from Dr. Gyi's material that really helped my swollen hands during the three day Gathering. I hope that another seminar will be planned soon so that I can show up, bring some folks, and support Surf Dog and Guro Crafty.

To the best of my abilities, here is what Surf Dog Showed me:1. Sitting or standing, let your arms dangle palm down, in front of you, but keep your hands a few inches from one another.2. Put your thumb and forefinger together and extend your other fingers. Your hands will look like you are displaying a piece of paper.3. Slowly raise your arms up in front of you, bending at the wrist (fingertips towards the ground), maintaining your hand positioning from the previous step.4. When your arms reach chest level, stop raising them.5. Maintain your finger position, but begin to rotate your palms inward and upward.6. When your palms feel like they are facing the sky, open your fingers, rotate your wrists outward, so that your palms are facing away from you, and extend your wrists so that your fingertips are pointing towards the ceiling. You will be extending your wrists so that your palms face outward.7. Lower your arms, maintaining the wrist bend from step 6.8. Relax your hands and wrists when your arms reach full, relaxed extension.

Now, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and middle fingers touching for the whole sequence.Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and ring fingers touching for the whole sequence.Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and pinkie fingers touching for the whole sequence.Then, repeat steps 1-8, with you thumb and all of your other fingertips (whole hand) touching for the whole sequence.You could go on to repeat the whole thing as many times as you wanted to.

Surf Dog showed me this sequence all done in a very relaxed, Tai Chi sort of pace. The only tension that I felt at any point in my arms was the energy that I was using to maintain my hand positioning from step two. In the morning on Sunday of the 3 day Gathering, this sequence did not "magically heal" my swollen hands, but it made them relax, open up, and I really felt like the blood was flowing through them after Surf Dog showed me this. I hope I described that sequence well enough, and if not, forgive me.

Guro Crafty, I'm pleased to hear that you will be at Surf Dog's school again in a few months and I will plan to attend the next seminar!